Decorative ornaments adapted to be hung from Christmas tree limbs or the like have traditionally been manufactured from delicate glass or other frangible materials. The body of such ornaments is typically of a one-piece construction and is provided with a suitable hook for suspending the ornament from a tree limb.
Prior art ornaments of the type described above are extremely subject to breakage due to their delicate nature. Breakage commonly occurs during both handling and storage of the ornaments and poses a definite health hazard, particularly where small children may gain access to sharp splinters and pieces of a broken ornament.
Another shortcoming of prior art glass-type ornaments relates to the fact that such ornaments displace a substantial amount of volume during storage thereof. Moreover, these ornaments must be delicately packed and isolated from each other during storage due to their fragile nature.
In addition to the deficiencies mentioned above, several limitations exist with regard to the geometric shapes and designs which may be achieved using blown glass constructions. For example, it is virtually impossible to achieve sharply defined corners or lines in a broken glass ornament. Additionally, glass ornaments are subject to breakage by processes for applying graphic designs or indicia thereon such as silk screening techniques or the like.
Accordingly, it is an important object of the present invention to provide an ornament which overcomes each of the deficiencies mentioned above, including the problem of breakage.
Another object of the invention is to provide an inflatable ornament which may be collapsed for storage purposes, thereby minimizing the volume of space required to store a multiplicity of such ornaments.
It is still a further object of the invention to provide an ornament of the type described above which may be easily formed from two sheets of flexible material, each suitable for receiving printed indicia or graphic designs thereon.
A still further object of the invention is to provide an inflatable ornament as described above which includes means formed integral with the ornament for hanging the ornament on a support, such as a Christmas tree limb.
These and further objects of the invention will be made clear or will become apparent in the course of the following description.